Transfer of Property Act, 1882
Read the central provisions on transfers, sale, mortgages, leases, exchange, gifts and actionable claims, with plain-language guides, key terms and explained quizzes for all eight chapters.
Whereas it is expedient to define and amend certain parts of the law relating to the transfer of property by act of parties; it is hereby enacted as follows.
Also available in: हिंदी
Study guide
Understand the Act before reading section by section
Read the Transfer of Property Act by the legal interest involved: ownership in a sale, security in a mortgage, enjoyment in a lease, or voluntary transfer without consideration in a gift. The topic guides below separate these transactions and link every study check to the actual section.
Chapters and study guides
- Chapter 1: PreliminaryThe preliminary chapter supplies the Act's name, scope, savings and definitions. Section 3's notice and actionable-claim definitions recur later; section 4 connects the Act to contract and registration law. Territorial notifications and state amendments must be considered separately.4 sections
- Chapter 2: Transfers of property by act of partiesStart with the transferor's authority and the interest being transferred; payment and possession alone do not answer every question.50 sections
- Chapter 3: Sales of immovable propertyA sale transfers ownership for a price. A contract for sale does not, by itself, create an interest or charge in the property.4 sections
- Chapter 4: Mortgages of immovable property and chargesA mortgage transfers an interest in specific immovable property to secure an obligation; it is not simply another name for a sale.54 sections
- Chapter 5: Leases of immovable propertyA lease transfers a right to enjoy property, not ownership. Duration, formalities and termination are separate questions.14 sections
- Chapter 6: ExchangesExchange turns on mutual transfers of ownership, not simply the absence of a cash payment.4 sections
- Chapter 7: GiftsA gift requires voluntary transfer of existing property without consideration and acceptance within the statutory window.8 sections
- Chapter 8: Transfers of actionable claimsUse section 3's definition before assuming that any debt, lawsuit or document is an actionable claim.10 sections
Key terms
- Transferor / transferee
- The person transferring a property interest and the person receiving it; identify the interest and authority first.
- Section 5, Section 7, Section 8
- Vested interest
- An interest governed by section 19; postponing enjoyment alone does not make it contingent.
- Section 19
- Contingent interest
- An interest depending on a specified uncertain event in section 21, subject to that section's rule and exception.
- Section 21
- Lis pendens
- Section 52 restricts the effect of dealings during qualifying property litigation; it is not simply a ban on every signed document.
- Section 52
- Mortgage
- Transfer of an interest in specific immovable property for a security purpose under section 58.
- Section 58
- Redemption
- The mortgagor's right described in section 60 after the principal money becomes due, subject to statutory qualifications.
- Section 60
- Marshalling
- A qualified ordering of recourse to multiple properties; purchaser and mortgagee rules appear separately.
- Section 56, Section 81
- Lease
- Transfer of a right to enjoy immovable property on the terms described in section 105, not ownership itself.
- Section 105
- Donor / donee
- The giver and recipient of a gift; acceptance and its timing are essential under section 122.
- Section 122
- Actionable claim
- A defined category in section 3, not every lawsuit or secured debt; section 130 governs its transfer.
- Section 3, Section 130
Scope and limits
- Educational explanations and fictional examples are separate from the statutory text; they are not individual legal advice.
- Registration, stamp, tenancy, succession, personal-law savings and state amendments may affect a transaction. No universal deed format, fee or filing procedure is supplied here.
Official reference: Government of India reference, hosted by Andhra Pradesh High Court — checked: 30 September 2026.Central reference text reproduced from the linked government PDF, with footnotes and separately labelled state amendments left in the original. It includes the 2001/2003 changes and the 2019 territorial-extension note. The checking date is not a certification that every state rule is current. Consult the original schedule, territorial notifications and applicable state law separately.Read the original schedule and amendment notes